Native Vegetation

Native Vegetation

Native Grasslands were a natural component of most of our local vegetation communities. They are naturally variable and diverse in species and change with the seasons. Many of the extensive grasslands that exist today have derived from changes to woodlands and shrublands due to grazing or clearing.

Saltbush Shrubland - (Atriplex species)
Saltbush Shrublands generally occur on open, clay soil plains with the species and structure varying according to soil type. Native grasses are sparse but groundlayer plants including Pigface are plentiful. Saltbush shrublands were originally far more extensive in times past with much of the Saltbush country being converted to grasslands.

Riverine Forest - (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)
Magnificent River Red Gums naturally dominate the low-lying floodplains adjacent to rivers and creeks which are subject to regular flooding. In earlier times these floodplains were mostly grassy open forest lands dominated by large, widely spaced River Red Gum forests.

Black Box Woodland - (Eucalyptus largiflorens)
There are still significant (though much reduced) areas of Black Box in the Southern Riverina. Black Box Woodlands occur on clay soils on low-lying sites subject to infrequent flooding and as ribbon stands along creeks or in or around swamps.